Al-NahdaWhosWho

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WHO is Who at Al-Nahda Academy

ELIJAH ACHIEK PANCHOL

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Elijah has helped create the computer literacy and STEM learning center for high school-aged refugee children in Cairo, Egypt. The center is a tech hub and a high school where students will learn programming, electronics, mathematics, and other sciences. The center’s name is Al-nahda Innovative Academy (Al-Nahda is an Arabic word meaning Renaissance).

Elijah Achiek is a 28-year-old South Sudanese living as an Asylum seeker in Cairo, Egypt. He recently graduated from Cairo University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems and Biomedical Engineering. He had been working as a part-time teacher in one of the Refugee Schools in Cairo where he taught Mathematics and Computer Literacy for four years.

Elijah is a committed instructor, activist, leader, and enthusiastic pioneer who believes in collaboration, sacrifice, and commitment as means to accomplish great things. He is a proactive member of several student associations and civil societies at Cairo University and his South Sudanese community in Egypt.

Here is Elijah's backstory from when he was a 10 year old child in a Refugee camp. ELI's STORY

TERRY KING

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Terry King is an 85 year old Engineer who lives in Cairo, Egypt this school year and is working with Elijah to create and run the Al-Nahda Academy. terry@terryking.us

Terry started soldering circuits over 70 years ago. He is an Engineer who has designed radio stations, recording studios, broadcast equipment, intelligent machines and special computer languages for IBM, and has worked as a broadcast journalist covering elections, fires, riots and Woodstock. He has worked on Computers that Sense and Control "Things" for the past 45 years, from Automated machines to Chip Testers to Home/Building Automation and now Arduino and ESP32 for many different applications. He has 'retired' several times during the past 20 years, and followed his wife Mary Alice in living in Africa, China and the Middle East, now in Egypt, bringing his Electronics Lab and Camera with him. Now he is writing the http://ArduinoInfo.Info WIKI and running the shop at [YourDuino.com] with Mary Alice and our good Chinese friend Jun Peng. In the past year he started a school in Cairo, Egypt with his friend Elijah Aichek to teach computer science and electronics to refugees from South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia etc. He will be back in Egypt next month. He has been back in Vermont working remotely and cutting firewood.

CHAR WANGKOR

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Born on July 4th, 1993, in Akobo County, South Sudan, I am the eldest of six siblings. My parents had limited formal education, with my mother possessing literacy in the Nuer language. My early education was disrupted by displacement due to inter-communal violence. Despite these challenges, I persevered through my primary education in Akobo.

The outbreak of the South Sudanese Civil War in 2013 forced me to flee to Ethiopia, where I endured hardship in a refugee camp. I subsequently relocated to Sudan, where I successfully completed secondary school. However, attempts to secure scholarships for higher education in South Sudan and Sudan were unsuccessful due to bureaucratic hurdles and discrimination based on my ethnicity.

In 2019, I was fortunate to receive a DAFI scholarship from the German government through UNHCR, enabling me to complete a Bachelor's Degree in computer science and artificial intelligence - department of information systems at Cairo University. My association with Terry and Elijah began in 2024 through a friend's recommendation, where I participated in their Electronics and Microcontroller training program.

Terry: Char is an Experienced Software Developer and educator with a strong background in creating innovativesoftware solutions and, fortunately, a passion for teaching. He has taught Database programming, Python programming and general computer subjects at Al-Nahda

KUORWEL MARTIN

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I fled South Sudan at 15, escaping war's chaos. Uganda's refugee settlement became my new home. Life was tough, but education gave me hope.

I studied hard, earning a spot in a top Kampala school. Yet, memories of war's trauma linger. I carry this burden, but I'm determined to rebuild. I finished my high school and had an opportunity to teach biology and chemistry at Al-Nahda Innovative Academy as one of the ways to help back the community.

I am now a Pre-Medical student.. and will soon be a certified Medical Lab Technician.

My story is one of displacement, struggle, and hope. I share it to inspire others to hold on to their dreams, no matter the challenge.

Martin has taught Chemistry and Physics at Al-Nahda.

Our Beginnings teaching STEM in Cairo

Terry and Elijah started teaching Electricity, Arduino and STEM to a few kids in Cairo last year. We did two Arduino projects ("Who has the warmest Hands" - Temperature sensors) and ("Ultrasonic distance measurement" - Arduino sensors) which you can see on the table in this photo. Elijah is the tallest guy on the left and Terry is the old guy on the right :-) We are asking for some very needed support HERE.

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